


Spooky Scary Skeletons

by mrswellrested



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrswellrested/pseuds/mrswellrested
Summary: A Halloween EO one-shot in which Elliot and Olivia spend Halloween night together.
Relationships: Olivia Benson/Elliot Stabler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Spooky Scary Skeletons

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween! I hope you're all enjoying this day of spookiness. To celebrate, I wanted to write a one-shot featuring our favorite couple. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Originally posted on ffn

"Fin, Munch, you two are on call tonight," Cragen announced as he walked out of his office late in the afternoon on Halloween day. "Benson, Stabler, enjoy your night off. I want your DD5s on my desk before you leave today. Enjoy your Halloween all." He turned and retreated back into his office as Munch and Fin groaned.

"Come on, let's go get some dinner before the phones start ringing," Munch said.

"See ya guys later," Fin told Olivia and Elliot as he and Munch walked passed their desks and out of the bullpen.

Olivia turned in her chair to Elliot, a smile spreading across her face. "A night off? What did we do?"

"Don't ask questions. Let's just finish our paperwork and get out of here before he changes his mind," Elliot responded, smirking at her. He grabbed his pen and began filling out the form in front of him. "Gonna do anything special tonight now that we're free?"

"No," Olivia laughed. "Don't have much of a social life with this job. Might hand out candy to the kids in my building. Managed to grab the last bag of candy at the bodega last night on my way home. After that? Probably just soak in the tub with a glass of wine. What about you? Taking the kids trick or treating?"

"No," he answered, shaking his head "They're a bit too old for that now. I think they're all doing their own thing tonight. Kathy's going out on a date with some guy from her new church. Maureen's hosting some Halloween party for her work friends. Kathleen's got some club charity haunted house thing, and the twins are staying in." He paused in his writing and looked up at her. "I miss taking them out, but I don't miss them being up half the night because they ate the majority of their candy haul in one sitting."

"My mother wouldn't let me eat more than one piece," Olivia said. "I went trick or treating with my neighbor and her parents while my mom stayed in drinking. When I got home she'd let me have one piece of candy and she put the rest away." She shrugged and sighed. "Guess that's another thing I missed out on as a kid."

Elliot frowned. "Sorry, Liv," he said softly. "What about when you were a teenager? What did you do for Halloween?"

She smiled as she thought back on her younger days. "I'd go to one of my friends' house to stay the night. We had a big sleepover with junk food and scary movies. We played with a ouija board one year. Scared the hell out of my one friend before her dad caught us using it and took it off us. What about you?"

He chuckled and leaned back in his seat, his arms behind his head as he stared off in the distance. Olivia's eyes trailed down his torso before snapping back to his face. She wasn't sure if it was just her or if the bullpen's temperature went up by a degree or two. "I was a bad kid," he confessed.

"You? No," Olivia feigned surprise.

"Yea. Me and my buddies went out and threw toilet paper on people's cars and houses. Played ding dong ditch, and stayed out way past curfew. Got picked up by my dad one year while he was out on patrol. Never heard the end of it after that."

"I bet," Olivia said as she filled in the last line of her form. "Well, I'm done. You close to finishing?"

"No, I still have a couple of forms to fill out."

"Want me to stay until you're done?"

"No, you go on and get out of here," Elliot replied, waving her off. "Go enjoy your evening."

"If you're sure. I'll see you tomorrow." She gathered her things and walked to her captain's office. She handed him her paperwork and bid him a good night before heading out of the bullpen. She waved goodbye to Elliot before turning the corner for the elevator.

When she got home, she dumped her bag and jacket on the chair at her tiny at home desk and beelined for her bedroom to change. She kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her work pants. She pulled on a pair of plain black leggings before pulling off her blouse and bra and opting for a loose-fitting gray t-shirt.

She went to the kitchen and opened the fridge to figure out her options for dinner. When she saw nothing but a carton of orange juice, a half-empty bottle of ketchup, and a head of lettuce that was turning brown, she sighed and decided take-out it was. She grabbed a menu from her favorite Chinese place off the fridge and began looking through it. Olivia decided since it was a holiday, she'd treat herself and get an extra portion of egg rolls with her noodles.

As she grabbed her phone to place her order, a knock came from the door. She furrowed her brow as she looked at her watch. Trick or treating in her building didn't start for another half hour. She figured maybe someone wanted to get a head start and grabbed the bag of assorted candy and dumped it into a plastic bowl.

"Coming," she said, tossing the empty bag into the garbage and walking to the door, bowl in hand. When she opened the door, she expected to see children in costumes, not her partner standing there with a pizza, a six-pack, and a plastic bag full of something in hand smirking at her.

"Thought we could spend our night off together. Recreate some of those Halloween memories you're fond of," he said.

Olivia smiled and stepped aside so he could enter. "You're just in time. I was just about to order food." She closed the door behind him and sat the bowl of candy on top of the fridge.

"Well, there you go. I just saved you some money," Elliot laughed as he sat the food, beer, and bag on her counter. "I rented some movies on my way home for us to watch."

"Oh? What did you get?"

"Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Shining, Night of the Living Dead, and The Exorcist," Elliot said as he pulled the DVDs out of the bag. "We probably won't have time to watch them all tonight, but I wanted to get some options you can pick from."

"I haven't seen any of those movies in years," Olivia said, looking over the DVD covers. "Probably not since my last sleepover when I was 15."

"Well, pick out what you want to watch first and I'll get it set up while you get yourself some pizza." He gathered up the DVDs and took them into the living room and to the entertainment stand that held the tv and DVD player.

Olivia dug out some paper plates from the cabinet and put a couple of slices of pizza on each plate. She balanced the plates in her hand as she grabbed two beer bottles before making her way over to the couch. "What are we watching first?" She asked, setting everything down on the coffee table.

"I figured we'd start with Night of the Living Dead and work our way up in the scary scale," Elliot said, getting off his knees and joining Olivia on the couch. He grabbed the remote for the DVD player and began skipping through the previews until they got to the main menu. Just as he hit play, a knock came from the door.

"Trick or treat," came a chorus of voices from the other side.

"Might want to keep your finger on the pause button for the next hour until my building's trick or treating is over," Olivia laughed as she pushed herself off the couch and made her way to the door. She grabbed the candy bowl off the top of the fridge and opened the door to see a group of four kids all dressed up as different superheroes. She smiled as she greeted them and allowed them to pick out a couple of pieces of candy each.

"What do you say to Miss Benson?" The woman accompanying the children asked.

"Thank you," they all said before walking to Olivia's next-door neighbor's door.

She was still smiling when she closed the door and returned the candy bowl to its spot on top of the fridge. She loved Halloween and seeing all the kids in their costumes. She hoped one day she'd be able to take her own child trick or treating.

One day, maybe.

"Ready?" Elliot asked when she returned to the couch.

She nodded. "Bring on the zombies."

They ended up having to pause the movie about six more times while Olivia greeted the trick or treaters at her door. When the trick or treating hour was over, and the candy bowl all but empty, Olivia locked the door and returned to the living room. "Mind if I turn the light off? For full spookiness?"

"Go for it," Elliot laughed as he finished off his beer and got up. "Want another one?"

"Yea, might as well," she answered as she glanced at the black and white scene paused on her screen. "Have you ever seen that black and white cartoon from Disney, I think it was, with the dancing skeletons?"

"Spooky Scary Skeletons?"

"Bless you?"

"That's what my kids call it," Elliot said. "It was a song on one of their cassette tapes, I think. Someone made a video with that song and that cartoon you're talking about. The kids love it."

"Oh, I didn't know there was a song. But anyway, it was always my favorite thing to watch at Halloween. I thought the skeletons were funny."

"You saying you don't find zombie's funny," he joked as he came back and handed her a fresh bottle of beer.

"Nope," Olivia laughed.

They finished the first movie and Elliot got up to switch the disks out. "Onto Halloween next."

The sun had completely disappeared from the sky and the only light in Olivia's apartment came from the TV and the screen of Elliot's phone. She noticed he wasn't really paying attention to the movie and was concentrating on his phone. She tried not to let it play on her mind, but her thoughts plagued her with questions. Was he having a good time with her? Was everything alright with his kids? Was he bored and just talking to someone else?

"You know, if I was being hunted down by Micheal Myers, I'd probably just leave town and put as much distance between me and him as I could?" She said, trying to regain his interest.

"He'd still find you," Elliot replied looking up from his phone. "Haven't you seen any of the sequels? He always finds you."

"Actually I haven't, so don't tell me what happens," she said. "What are you doing anyway? You bored?"

"No, I was just looking for something. I'll show you when the movie's done."

"Hmm." She watched him out of the corner of her eye turn his screen off and place the phone face down in his lap before he began paying attention to the movie again.

It was nearing eight when Halloween finished and Elliot got up to switch out the disks once more. This time he put in Friday the 13th. He returned to the couch and before he hit play on the menu, he turned the screen of his phone on and unlocked it.

"This is what I was looking for," he said, scooting closer to her so he could show her. "What I was telling you about earlier. The Spooky Scary Skeletons song." He taped play on the tiny Youtube video and it began to play.

It was the same black and white cartoon that Olivia remembered from her childhood but laid over the top of it was a song she'd never heard before. She smiled as she watched the little cartoon skeletons dance across the screen, and when the video was over, she was still smiling.

"That was cute," she said. "Thanks for showing that to me."

"So the question is, do spooky scary skeletons send shivers down your spine, Liv?" Elliot asked as he hit play on the DVD menu, his eyes never leaving hers. He was sitting closer to her now. The gap between them was only a couple of inches.

"Guess we'll have to find out," she smirked before turning her attention to the opening of the third movie in their scary movie marathon.

They didn't say much through Friday the 13th, but Olivia kept pointing out all the things the teenagers could have done to save themselves. It made Elliot chuckle. When the movie was over, Elliot looked at his watch.

"I think we can squeeze one more in," he said. "What do you say?"

"Sure," Olivia answered. "Which one?"

"Your choices are The Shining or The Exorcist."

"The Exorcist," Olivia answered.

"You sure? It's a two-hour movie. It's not going to be too late for you when it's over?"

"It'll be fine, besides, better make the last movie a scary one."

"You're scared of the Exorcist?"

"Hey, that pea soup scarred me for life when I saw it as a kid."

She could remember watching the movie for the first time when she was thirteen at Becky Harlow's Halloween sleepover. The movie, at the time, scared her senseless and she hadn't slept a wink that night. She couldn't get the picture of Regan MacNeil's demonic face out of her mind. Olivia hadn't seen the movie since then, and she wondered if it was still as scary as she remembered it to be.

"So do you Catholics believe in all this? Exorcism and demons?" Olivia asked as they watched the movie.

"Some do. I don't," Elliot shrugged. "It's movies like this that keep feeding the fear though."

She nodded and continued to watch the girl on the screen become sicker and sicker as the demon took over her body. Olivia felt her stomach churn as memories of the first time she watched the movie coming back to her. When Regan spun her head all the way around, Olivia jumped and somehow was sitting right up against Elliot. She could feel the heat coming off his body and it felt comforting for a moment to know he was right there next to her.

"Let me know when it's over," Olivia said, clenching her eyes shut.

"Liv, we've literally seen crime scenes worse than this," he teased gently poking her side.

"We don't see children turning their heads 180 degrees," she groaned, opening an eye to check if the scene was over. "Don't you laugh at me."

"I'm not," he said. "I didn't realize it would be demonic children that would send shivers down your spine."

She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't exactly send shivers down my spine. More like it makes me feel sick."

He hummed in response, his eyes glancing to the tv and then back to her. He leaned closer to her, his voice lower than it was before, and said, "So I guess we still need to find out what sends shivers down your spine."

"Better keep looking," she responded in kind. She wasn't sure what made her do it. Perhaps it was the three bottles of beer she downed, or the flirting, or even just the need to act on her feelings. All she knew was one minute she was staring back at Elliot and the next her lips were on his and her hands cupping his face.

She was thankful he didn't pull away. On the contrary, he kissed her back, his arms snaking around her body and holding her to him. She tilted her head and changed the angle as the kiss deepened. Her hands slid down from his cheeks to either side of his neck. A small moan escaped her throat as he gripped her tighter and pulled her onto his lap. He trailed his fingers down her spine and Olivia felt the goosebumps erupt all over her body.

When they broke, they stared at each other, both a little breathless. She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "What are we doing, El?"

"Spending Halloween together," Elliot answered softly. "Exploring our feelings."

Her eyes opened and met his blue ones as she pulled back. "Do you want this? To explore our feelings? Explore a relationship beyond being just partners and friends?"

He nodded. "I do if you do."

"I do."

A smile spread across his face. "Then let's explore. But first, I think we have a movie to finish."

She laughed as she slid off his lap and settled against his side, resting her head on his chest. Elliot's arm wrapped around her waist and kept her firmly in place. She didn't care about the movie anymore and could only think about the kiss she just shared with him. Her thoughts were interrupted as Elliot started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"At least I know what sends shivers down your spine now," Elliot replied with a grin.


End file.
